Praying Mantis's are awesome little insects. Just recently we have found about 7-10 of them outside the apartment everytime we go out.

Watched some videos on youtube about them, and they hunt some big game compared to themselves.

Edit:

Did you know that the female Mantis eats the male Mantis after mating?

The male mantis is probably the most nutricous meal the female can get, and will make her eggs mature faster by eating him. Also on a clip i watched, 2 praying mantis's were mating, and the female started eating the males head, and continued to mate with no head.

Also on a clip i watched, 2 praying mantis's were mating, and the female started eating the males head, and continued to mate with no head.

Ugh, sounds like Mantis foreplay is a bit more aggressive than human foreplay.

When you see them pivot those little green heads and watch you, have you ever wondered, considering how close they look to the stereotyped little green men, that they might be the advance lookouts for a future invasion from outer space?? Hmmm?

They might be watching (or observing) you for a reason.

__________________

"One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying." - Joan of Arc

Good friends will never be forgotten. You may lose them in body. But their spirit will always be within the hearts of those they touched. Goodbye for now my friend until we meet again in a better place.
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1955-2008

When you see them pivot those little green heads and watch you, have you ever wondered, considering how close they look to the stereotyped little green men, that they might be the advance lookouts for a future invasion from outer space?? Hmmm?

Rick I swear I had the SAME thought when I was watching my little friend!

That is awesome. I remember the first time I saw a live specimen way different then in pics thot about brining it back t nd with me but then I came to my senses. It may not survive our winters, B. what if it did survive and it was a fertilized female and i single handedly wiped out nd's grain crops so i left it there lol

Some animals can recongize themselves in a mirror. I wonder if a praying mantis can....humm...

At least some octopus can, they have a lot of potential, given the proper circumstances they might outsmarten us .

Quote:

Octopuses are highly intelligent, probably more intelligent than any other order of invertebrates. The exact extent of their intelligence and learning capability is much debated among biologists,[2][3][4][5] but maze and problem-solving experiments have shown that they do have both short- and long-term memory. Their short lifespans limit the amount they can ultimately learn. There has been much speculation to the effect that almost all octopus behaviors are independently learned rather than instinct-based, although this remains largely unproven. They learn almost no behaviors from their parents, with whom young octopuses have very little contact.

An octopus has a highly complex nervous system, only part of which is localized in its brain. Two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are found in the nerve cords of its arms, which have a remarkable amount of autonomy. Octopus arms show a wide variety of complex reflex actions arising on at least three different levels of the nervous system. Some octopuses, such as the Mimic Octopus, will move their arms in ways that emulate the movements of other sea creatures.

In laboratory experiments, octopuses can be readily trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns. They have been reported to practice observational learning,[6] although the validity of these findings is widely contested on a number of grounds.[2][3] Octopuses have also been observed in what some have described as play: repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them.[7] Octopuses often break out of their aquariums and sometimes into others in search of food. They have even boarded fishing boats and opened holds to eat crabs.[4]

Thank you for the lovely pix! I have had the pleasure of seeing a luna moth...they are gorgeous. I've seen praying mantis too, a pretty big one once. And I remember as a kid, one gave my cousin a bite on his finger that made him bleed. Ladybugs and dragon flies also catch my heart, and of course butterflies. But I also love the big fat fuzzy bumble bees...which I fondly refer to as "jumble" bees. They are very docile and non-agressive, unlike yellow jackets. But I hate "spyders" with a passion!